Category Archives: Disney

What this? This collection of Disney-related articles is just a glimmer of my passion for the empire Walt created. The real amazingness is over here.

Being Grounded Sux!

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But every once in a while you get a breath of fresh air and then you get back underwater with your self-contained breathing apparatus and just curse your own stupidity. But anyways! I was permitted to go social dancing at Disneyland this evening because my dear friend Lila’s pass was expiring soon and I wanted one more chance to dance with her at Disneyland AND Stompy Jones was playing. So I get to Carnation Plaza Gardens just as the band is coming on, and I’m a little concerned with the dancer turn-out…practically nobodies there. But by the end of the third song, the dance floor is crowded! And with tons of really great dancers! I mean people who haven’t been seen at the park in years were there dancing and it was an absolute blast! Hooray for Martin Luther King Jr. getting us a 3 day weekend! Well, and all … Continue reading →

Daily Comics, Celebrating Swing Legends, Little Mermaid Musical and Traffic On The Rivers Of America

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From Mora’s Modern Music News CARNEGIE HALL ANNIVERSARY Wednesday, January 16th, marks the 80th anniversary of Benny Goodman’s legendary concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Chuck Cecil (radio host of “The Swingin’ Years”) will be broadcasting a special show in honor of this milestone; the program will include historical interviews with the people who were there, including Martha Tilton, Harry James, and even Benny Goodman himself (taken from archival shows). Check your local radio listings for “The Swingin’ Years” (here in L.A., it is broadcast on both KKJZ and KCSN). BIRTHDAY MILESTONES FOR 2007 We want to end our newsletter on a happier note by acknowledging the birthdays of some of the Swing Era’s notable personalities who are still with us. All the people listed below celebrated their 90th birthday in the year 2007: Lena Horne — sang with Charlie Barnet in the early 1940s Vera Lynn — … Continue reading →

Porn Escalates The Next-Generation DVD War and Microsoft Refuses Apple

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Economy, Poor Sales Drove Warner’s HD DVD Choice – News and Analysis by PC Magazine Blu-ray wins in my book because they’ve got Disney, but they also win because they have the most expandable space – they’re already burning 50 GB on each side of a disc…50 gigs! Porn Providers Rethinking Next-Gen DVD Plans – News and Analysis by PC Magazine Porn helped VHS win, but it’s not helping Blu-ray win…yet. Play ‘Guitar Hero’ with a Real Guitar! – News and Analysis by PC Magazine This is very cool…but I don’t play a real guitar, so I’m just here for the geek factor 😉 Guitar Hero Air Guitar Rocker: Exclusive Video – Gearlog Exclusive video… Microsoft Won’t Launch iPhone Rival: Report – News and Analysis by PC Magazine I’m glad Microsoft isn’t letting themselves be goaded into doing this…I wonder if the Google phone had any impact on this decision… … Continue reading →

Jersey Boys, Across the Universe, Misbehavin’ Nightly, Pajama Game and Enchanted (i.e. The Past Three Weeks In Entertainment)

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Jersey Boys The show is a lot of fun. The story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, it’s definitely rated R (they’re from f*ckin’ Jersey after all), but a lot of fun. It’s a biopic musical! Well then again, all biopics about music stars are musicals…I just don’t think I’ve seen the jukebox musical format applied as a biopic and I love it! Across the Universe Wow, two jukebox musicals in one week? You’d think I’d be sick of it, but I’m actually having a heck of a time. Across the Universe is the jukebox movie-musical (has that been done before?) starring the Beatles and an incredibly talented cast (definitely triple threats). Directed by Julie Taymor (the “person” responsible for The Lion King musical), the movie is very enjoyable and taught me a lot of Beatles music. The soundtrack is amazing! It’s chock full of musical goodies and I’ve … Continue reading →

The Weekend To End All Weekends (so far)

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Brief run-down Fridayschool [grumble]Atomic Ballroom’s Frankie Manning Weekend 2007     Harlem Lindy Variations with Jerry and Aubri    Big Apple with Frankie Manning and Audrey Wilson    Friday Evening Swing Dance (left early) Saturday5:30 AM wake up call, arrive at Disneyland at 7 AM, Cruzin’ Disney’s California Adventure Tour (Flickr: Bullfrog117’s photos tagged with segwaytour)     This was a lot of fun (mostly because I didn’t get rained out like last week*).  The tour takes about 3 hours.  The first half hour is a talk through about the Segway I-2 and it’s various features.  During the next hour, you go inside California Adventure and do a training course in the Hollywood Pictures Backlot (drive in a circle, duck, uphill, downhill, around poles).  At 8:45 the tour of California Adventure begins.  First stop:  Condor Flats.  Dedicated to the history of aviators in California (Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier at 2:20 something…the time … Continue reading →

War and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast

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Luke Adams (fellow cast member from Torrance’s Joseph (2004) and Camelot (2005)) was cast as the Beast in Starlight Theatre’s outdoor production and did an incredible job. I was lucky enough to head down there for the closing performance. We left Orange County around 3:30 with the hopes of catching a movie before the show. Success on both fronts! War featuring Jason Statham and Jet Li This was a very exciting film, portraying the tale of Rogue, a Yakuza (Japanese mob) hitman who pits Yakuza members in San Francisco against the Triad (Chinese mob), and John Crawford, a member of the FBI’s Asian Organized Crime unit out to avenge his partner’s death (to the extent of all else – his marriage, his son, etc.). Aside from Jet Li and Jason Statham being incredible fighters, the story was really solid and really enjoyable. At least that’s what I can claim – … Continue reading →

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End – The World Premiere and The Midnight Showing

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Pictures. So last Saturday I went to Disneyland at 6 in the morning. Why? Not to sit and wait all day to see celebrities – to take advantage of an empty Disneyland at 6:30 in the morning. I got several great shots of New Orleans completely empty and had an entire Splash Mountain log to myself (probably the only time I’ve ever walked onto that attraction and had the offer of staying on for a 2nd ride). After that I went to Swing Team Rehearsal with the intention of joining some friends later that day in Disneyland for the Red Carpet walk-by’s. But not before going into Jamba Juice and watching Orlando Bloom walk through Downtown Disney incognitos with a little girl (not his daughter…maybe his niece? No idea). I came back around 5 pm and I’m on the hub right across from Tomorrowland. Unfortunately, by the time the celebrities … Continue reading →

Rockin’ Both Parks

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I can’t really think and therefore I must blog. Makes sense, right? Not to me, but that’s why I keep doing it. My current favorite video is Super Mario Bros: Frustration on Google Video. Warning: it’s 24 minutes long and incredible foul-mouthed. Beyond that it is absolutely hilarious. Thanks to Danny for finding it for me. Ed. Note – Google Video is no more, now it’s YouTube! The past week has been intriguing, being that I spent most of it at Disneyland, which is unusual for me (no really, just because I have an annual pass doesn’t mean I spend every free hour at the park). Why for was I at the park? I was using my video camera to capture the audio from the Rockin’ Both Parks campaign with the Red Hot Chili Peppers because I just love it and (ASSUMPTION) Disney won’t pay the Red Hot Chili Peppers … Continue reading →

Meet The Robinsons

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This film was lots of fun. It really lifted me up to see the Disney Company moving in such a positive direction. First: The film is preceded by the classic Mickey Mouse short, Boat Builders. Then there was the Walt Disney Pictures logo AND a Disney Animated Studios logo featuring Steamboat Willie! These two bits tell me good things are around the corner for Disney Animated Feature now that John Lasseter has assumed the Walt Disney figurehead in the company* (i.e. he makes a lot of creative decisions). I remember reading several articles online during the development of this picture where Lasseter stepped in and basically fixed parts of the film that weren’t working. Well let me tell you, it paid off. This film is heartfelt, funny and features incredibly fun characters. It seemed a little predictable to me only because I’m a sci-fi geek and time travel is one … Continue reading →

Bridge to Terabithia (Movie)

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If it weren’t for Katy, I probably wouldn’t have read the book before I saw the movie. This movie is what Eragon should have been: an appropriate tribute to the spirit of the book. I guess I can thank David Patterson (son of the author and screenplay). The only thing missing was the sacred grove, and with no length issues for the movie, they should have included it. Oh well, maybe we’ll get some deleted scenes. After I read the book, I watched the movie trailer again and got really worried. I mean, Disney kept selling it as a movie along the lines of Chronicles of Narnia, which is a completely different kind of fantasy story. Bridge to Terabithia is about the imagination of two children, not finding a magic world hidden inside a wardrobe that’s actually a metaphor for Christianity. It’s about keeping your mind open as the world … Continue reading →